Hey guys, welcome back you are watching me on Let's Talk, my name is Niharika. Well today
I have a question for you, now it is important that you are really honest with your answer.
Deal? Okay then well here is the question. As a kid how did you learn the very words
you ever knew? Did you learn it in kindergarten? Or you learn it at a play-school? Or did you
actually learn it through books? Well that's impossible you are a baby after all. Well
the honest answer is that you simply heard words over and over again and there you brain
picked up new words just like that. Every night during bed time your mother would say
that hey honey go to bed. You listen to that and you actually learnt. And that's exactly
how you learn to be fluent in any language. So to become fluent in English, you must first
learn to listen to it. So pay attention while I'll help you learn to listen and get fluent
in English just like a native speaker.
Now here is the first thing that you can do. Be a copycat, now you can leant to listen
and understand English really well if you become a copycat. Now I am not trying to be
funny, well it's actually true. If you copy or imitate native English speakers long enough,
you will start talking just like them. Now a lot of you are probably not exposed to native
speakers, because you live in a non-English speaking country. Well don’t worry, you
can actually speak fluent English, by learning to listen to native speakers on a personalised
flexible online learning platform. Yes, that's true. Well you can do this through a website
called Lingoda. Now many of my students, have actually tried it. And I am really amazed
at how much their English has actually improved. Now with Lingoda, you have the option of taking
group classes, or private classes. In fact they have teachers available 24/7. So it's
actually super easy for you, you can actually schedule your class according to your time.
Especially if you are a very busy person and have a very limited time to learn English.
Well you get to speak and listen to native English teachers from all around the world.
And to be honest these native teachers are extremely qualified and they love their jobs.
So, happy teachers, equals to happy students. Right? Well now these classes last for almost
60 minutes so that’s one full hour of learning to speak and listen to native speakers. In
a group class you would be, one among five students, and even though if it's a group
class, everyone gets equal participation in discussing various topics. And you can access
anything between 10-30 group classes. In fact even the private classes, are great too. I
have personally tried couple of these sessions and they are really good. Now Lingoda has
a differently monthly plans, which are pretty much reasonably priced, and you can look at
it as an investment to improve your English. Am I right? But then you are a Let's Talk
subscriber, so in fact we have requested Lingoda for a discount too. So what you need to do
is use this code mentioned right here at the time when you are signing up for the course.
There is a link mentioned in the description. Now you will get a $50 discount on your first
monthly subscription. You get to choose topics that you want to discuss and hear about. So
imaging how much you’re learning, with these native speakers. Right? So if I were you,
I would grab this chance to becoming fluent in English with the help of native speakers.
Oh yes, I almost forgot to tell you something very important, when you complete a course
with Lingoda, you actually get a certificate, that acknowledges your ability to read, write,
listen and speak English very well. Because this certificate is actually recognised by
CEFR which is Common European Framework of Reference which is recognized worldwide. These
certificates can be used for university or visa applications as well. So guys what are
you waiting for? Well do go ahead and subscribe to these monthly plans on Lingoda. So that
you become a fluent English speaker. So guys do try out Lingoda and let me know how did you find it.
Now here is the next thing that you can do is shadowing technique. Yes, now this is another
way to play a copycat. Now obviously Lingoda is the best way but why now have some real
fun while improving your listening skills? Well, all you need to try is the technique
called shadowing. Now what do you think a shadow does? Well it does everything you do.
Well you have to be the shadow of someone else's speech. Try picking up your favourite
actor and mimic his or her way of talking. You know shadow the way the rhythm of his
voice goes up and down while talking. In fact pay attention to he or she pronounces certain
words which are kind of different from your pronunciation may be you pronounce it in a
different manner. But try doing that. in fact the other day I tried shadowing a speech given
by a former US. President Mr. Obama, and my family thought I was like nuts but hey,
I was having a lot of fun and we learnt to listen to the unique way he talks so yes my
friends I mean shadowing a good English speaker is your tip to speaking like them. So go ahead
and have some fun with it listen to them copy them, and talk fluently just like them.
Here is the next thing, the sounds in English. Now those who learn to speak English very
well always try to listen carefully for certain sounds made in words. Yeah I mean certain
sounds may seem quite strange to you. Because it's so different from the sound you make,
while talking in your own language. For example, the /z/ (zh) sound. Now the zh sound to pronounce
the word vision/ viz(a)n/ does not exist in you language that's quite possible Right?
However you need to listen carefully by paying close attention to the mouth movements made
by the native speakers to form sounds like the (zh) or the (th) sound Like in thank you.
now it’s not the (th) but you know it is with the air blowing out of your lips as you
say it. It's like Thank You. Right? So pick up on individual, sounds and the way you want
listen to native speakers more effectively. Now this will help you get the right accent
the correct pronunciation, and then guess what? Get you fluent in no time.
What's the next thing that you can do? Well-connected speech. A lot of my students tell me that
native English speakers speak in a very funny manner. One student in fact last week told
me that some native speakers tend to eat up their words. Now if you listen properly you
will indeed find that native speakers sound like they are eating up their words. Why do
they do that? Well because they use the technique of connected speech. Yes. They actually use
this technique while talking. All fluent English speakers do that. Now what does exactly this
really mean. Connected speech is talking in a way, where you don’t always pronounce
words separately with the neat pause in between, in fact many words affect each other when
you say them in a sentence. The end sound of one word often affects the beginning of
the next word. So let me help you with an example a native speaker would say that I
will take apartovit next year. Okay. Now the sentence actually is I will take a part of
it next year. However individual words are not pronounced separately. Okay? Words are
actually linked or joined and some sounds are sometimes even eliminated to form a different
sounding word. So part of it becomes (a-part-ovit). Okay? Because the T in Part gets linked to
the O in the word of. So always listen carefully for connected speech. This will help you understand
and of course speak fluently in English a lot more.
And then here is the last point. Mindset. Listening is something you have to consciously
do it. You have to tell your mind, that you will take in all the information that you
hear. So don't listen only with your ears open, open your mind to the right attitude
of learning as much as you can. And as you learn to listen with an open mind... you will
actually see that you need to learn new ways of saying things and unlearn the old ones.
I mean I am sure it is a challenge, but a very possible one. Yes. It's very much possible
thing to do. So always have the right mind set to learning and you will learn if you
believe you can. So guys thank you, thank you so much for watching me today hope you
have taken down the points that I have actually mentioned in today's video Please do follow
them and hope they are really helpful to you to become a good listener and eventually a
fluent English speaker . I will see you all soon. Till then keep learning. Take care